Five Pak entrepreneurs enrolled for Alibaba Group's ‘eFounders Initiative’

HANGZHOU, China: Five Pakistani entrepreneurs were among the 37 participants enrolled for the first class of Asian entrepreneurs for the eFounders Initiative of China’s Alibaba Group launched in partnership with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

The 11-day course, kicked off on 26th March is part of a commitment by Jack Ma, Alibaba Group’s founder and Executive Chairman and UNCTAD Special Adviser, to empower 1,000 entrepreneurs from developing countries in five years.

Following a rigorous selection process, the final candidates from Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam embarked on an intensive course providing first-hand exposure to e-commerce innovations from China and around the world and become eFounders Fellows.

Pakistanis who were selected for the global programme are Hamza Iftikhar from DealSmash; Anum Kamran from Buyon.pk; Furquan Kidwai from Dawaai.pk; Muhammad Komail from FindMyAdventure; and Shazil Mehkri from Sastaticket.

Alibaba Business School has set a strict criteria under which the aspirant should be under the age of 35; working in the digital and technology space operating open platforms related to e-commerce, payment, logistics, big data or tourism; be an authentic, open-minded and altruistic leader of the new economy; be at an inflection point in their careers; looking to move from success to significance with integrity, vision and drive; and be a founder or co-founder of an officially registered digital technology venture.

Brian A. Wong, Vice President of Alibaba Group said: “We are excited to extend this fellowship to entrepreneurs from Asia for the very first time as part of our commitment to empower digital champions and communities around the world.

“Our goal is to inspire entrepreneurs to serve as pioneers for building a more inclusive development model that is not just good for their business, but also good for society by creating platforms that all can participate in and benefit from,” said Wong, who also heads the Global Initiatives program.

The participants of the eFounders Initiative will learn first-hand the transformative impact e-commerce and technology have on society in China and participate in lectures and discussions with local practitioners and executives to identify the lessons that can be applied to their own markets.

Upon graduation, participants will officially become Fellows of the eFounders Initiative and make formal commitments on how they will apply the learning from this program.